Weft parter



April 27, 1954 G. URQUHART WEFT PARTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 25. 1950 mm m mw E mm 2 L. G. URQUHART April 27, 1954 WEFT PARTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 25. 1950 L. G. URQUHART 2,676,620

April 27, 1954 WEFT PARTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 25, 1950 April 27, 1954 L. G. URQUHART 2,676,620

WEFT PARTER Filed Oct. 25, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ii Bah! by W K.

Patented Apr. 27, 1954 WEFT PARTER Lloyd. (in. Urquhart, Allston,. Mass, assignor to: H. F. Livermore Corporation, Allston, Massa, a:

corporation of Delaware Application October-25, 1950, Serial No. 191,982

17 Claims.- (Cl. 139-263) This invention relates to automatic weft replenishing looms, and in particular to the weft partersemployed in such looms to cut the weft extending to the cloth from the spent bobbin in the shuttle as such bobbin isexpelled and to hold'the portion of such weft extending to the selvage of the cloth, in order to prevent this trailing end'of weft from being drawn into the shed to injure the quality of the cloth; also, to hold this: trailing end extended so that it will be properly trimmed off by the temple thread cutter.

Much effort and ingenuity has been put into devising'mechanism for thus disposing of the trailing endof old weft at the time when replenishment occurs. A device which has proved so satisfactory astohave: become practically the standard type of weft parter in weft replenishing looms is that shown and described in the patent to A. E. Stafford; No 1,552,388, September 1, 1925', which with minor improvements such as added by Frank- Harris, in Patent No. 1,761,625, June 3, 1930, and others, is in widespread useat present.

This modified" Stafford wef-t parter, however, still leaves room for improvement, in that it comes in two main parts which must be assembled on the transferrer stud of the loom when the device is installed thereon, and the job-of mounting the weft parteritself andits supporting parts in accurate cooperative relation with the shuttle box front plate and other parts on the lay and afterwardconnecting up and adjusting the actuating parts therefor to receive their impulse from the transferrer dog andtransmitsuch impulse to the weft parter with precision of timing and scopeis a laborious and time-consuming operation; it often-takes a- 100m fixer half a day with corresponding loss of the looms running time, to inst'al-and'adjust a single one of these weft parters inproperworking relation, because of the many adjustments required, as well as because of the lack of provision for other needed adjustments;

The purpose of-these weft parters is of, course:

to cut the end from thediscarded bobbin, and

hencethey must do sowith certainty to, warrant and with a loose setting. the blades can vibrate shut prematurely, leaving the weft uncut. Further, sometimes thefiber holding blade of the weft parter fails to hold the cut end, because it does not seize the weftv end before the blades part it, or because: the blades: vibrate open, and the loose end extending to the selvage escapes to becarried into the cloth ortangled in parts on the loom and pulled too tight or broken within the width of the'fabric.

Additionally, the complex structure and design of the Stafford weft parter admit of being simplified in the interests: of ease and lessened cost of construction, as well as perfected to reduce wear and Iengthenits useful life, with resulting economies.

With the aim of' providing a weft parter of the above type which shall offer improvement in the respects indicated and in others. as well, I have contrived a device of'this: sort capable of being assembled in its entirety'wholly apart: from the loom by workers specially skilled and trained to assemble and adjust the device into correct work ing relation, and thereafterinstalled in the loom as a unit requiring only a few minor easily effected adjustments for correct operation, thus saving a very considerable amount of loom time and defective cloth;

To effect the closingof the cutting blades to part'the weft I' employ a single fixed cam which canneither fail" to close the blades nor change its timing, and the movable cutting blade is spring biased'to hold-it open at all times when such caminoperative, thus insuring against premature closure of the blade and enabling through theprovi'si'on of a small stop screw the variation of the width of opening of the cutting blades, a featurenot possible in the Stafford device.- Further, the structure of the whole weft parter has been simplified to reduce the number of parts and the incidental machining, finishing and assembling operations, as well as to reduce its weight and resultant tendency to vibrate loose or out of adjusted relation. To guard against escape ofthe cut weft end, the fiber holding blade grips the weft before the cutting blade severs it.

Other objects of the invention, and, the. manner of their attainmentare as made plain hereinafter;

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the" accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is'a side elevation, Fig.v 2' is a plan view, and Fig; 3is a rear view, of the improved weft parter.

Fig. 4' i's'a detail side elevation of the cutting blades and their associated parts, the holding blade and spring having been removed.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the carrier for the cutting blades.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the under side of the fixed guide of the weft parter, showing the cam which closes the cutting jaws.

The improved weft parter comprises a carrier l for the cutting blades 3, 5, which is slidably mounted on two parallel guides l, 9, with capacity for reciprocation forward and backward of the loom. The guides l, 9, are mounted in a bracket or stand II which is adjustably fixed by means of its split clamping sleeve l3 and screws l5 upon the usual transferrer stud ll of the loom, in such position that as usual the cutting blades 3, 5, will enter the slot in the shuttle box front wall and also the opening customarily provided for this purpose in the front wall of the shuttle, to

engage and cut the weft end when the weft parter is called into action by the movement of the transferrer in replenishing the weft.

Guides I, 9, are round in section, thus simplifying the cost of initial construction and of replacement of worn parts, since thus they can be made of commercially available steel rod of stock sizes with a minimum of machining, and the seats for the rods in the two bosses I9 of bracket II are simply formed by drilling two parallel holes therethrough from front to back. Likewise, the knife carrier I is provided with passages of circular cross-section fitting the guide rods and serving as bearings enabling it to slide on such guides I, 9, by simply drilling holes 2|, 23, of appropriate dimensions one above the other horizontally through the body of the carrier and through lug 29 formed thereon. The use of a pair of such guides l, 9, revents the rocking. of the carrier about the axis of either guide. guides are clamped in fixed operative relation in bosses l9 by set screws 25, 21.

Bracket l i is skewed slightly, as shown in Fig. 2, to hold guides l, 9, at an oblique angle to the axis of transferrer stud I'I, so that as usual the weft end held by the parter after the cutting will be slackened as the parter moves forward following its operation.

The cutting blades 3, 5, and weft guide 33 are mounted on vertical face 3| of the knife carrier, such face being perpendicular and disposed at right angles to the axis of the transferrer stud. Against the movable blade 3 is the fiber Weft holder 35, these parts being pressed tightly together laterally by the customary presser spring 31 stressed by the head of screw 39 holding these parts to the carrier. Additionally, the rearward end of presser 31 is extended to reach to the cut-' ting point in blades 3, 5, determined by the perpendicular end of weft guide 33, and the end portion of the latter guide is bent toward fixed blade 5 so that the three blades 3, 5, 3'5, are pressed tightly together by the extremities of the weft guide and the presser spring to insure certain cutting and gripping of the weft.

Pin 4| in usual manner is fixed in face 3| to enter notches in the forward ends of the fixed blade, the weft guide, and fiber weft holder to prevent rotation aboutscrew 39, while. the latter forms the pivot for moving blade 3. To actuate moving blade 3, it is provided with a forward extension 43, Fig. 4, on the under side of which is formed a finger 45 around which is wrapped the upper extremity of an expanding coil spring 41 perched on a boss 49 on a lug 5! extending.

rearwardly from a web 53 on the under side The of carrier I. This spring through pressing upward on the front end of blade 3 acts to depress the rearward cutting end thereof, and thus the blade is spring-biased to remain open at all times except when forced into closed relation with its companion blade 5.

The extent of opening of the blades is adjusted and fixed .by a set screw 55, equipped with lock nut 56, threaded through a lug 51 on carrier l to engage with its lower end the top surface of extension 43 on movable blade 3 and thus limit 1 the upward travel of such extension under pressure of spring 41 and thereby determine the width of opening of the cutting ends of the two blades.

To close the blade, and thus effect the cutting and holding of the weft end, the forward extension 43 of the movable blade is equipped with a roll'59 rotatably mounted on a pin 6| fixed as by riveting in a hole near the end of such extension. The under surface of guide 9 at and adjacent the rearward end thereof is shaped to provide a cam surface 63, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, by cutting away the material at the'under side of guide 9 approximately to the axisof the rod for an inch or so at the extreme end thereof and then beveling the cut downward to terminate at the full diameter of guide 9. Since the carrier l is as usual driven forward on its guides during its working stroke by engagement of bunter screw 65, fixed in a lug 61 on the carrier, with the front plate of the shuttle box on the transferring beat of the lay, the resultant forward movement of the carrier I carries roll '59 along cam surface 63 which forces such roll downward, thus depressing the forward extension 43 of movable blade 3 and closing such blade relatively to fixed blade 5. This effects the cutting of the weft end. Incidentally, because the axis of roll 59 is parallel to the lay, while guide 9 stands at a slight horizontal angle thereto, the cutting of the cam surface 63 is done so that the transition zone 69 from flat to bevel extends obliquely across guide 9, so as to afford bearing of roll 6| against the cam surface across the whole face of the roll.

Through this improved provision for effecting the closing of the cutting blades, the timing or setting of the exact and most critical moment of closing is accurately, easily, and quickly effected, and the possibility of getting out of adjustment through vibration and wear is practically eliminated. All that is necessary to time the cutting is the loosening of clamping screws 21 and the shifting of guide 9 forward or backward to cause the closing of the cutting blades at the exact desired point in the forward excursion of the lay, thereafter retightening screws 21 to maintain the desired adjustment with security.

As is well known, the timing of the action of the weft parter must be accurately set to part the old weft before the spent bobbin is expelled,

in order to prevent pulling the final pick tight in parting of the weft is to occur, motion is takenas heretofore from the usual transferrer dog, butthrough devices arranged in novel manner. Thus,

a stud H is fixed as by a press fit and set screw 12. in a sleeve 73 formed in bracket or stand -Il below and slightly forward of the transferrer stud l1, and an actuator 15 is pivotally mounted y the-two hubs 1'! on the shank of such stud,

ac'ze eao.

532 being-:- retained. thereont. by head; 19: of; the: stud. The. actuator 15. is: made: in two: pieces T4,. 16, and the portion-1.4: having; theintegral hubs ll has. an: army 8;! provided; with: a: slot 8-3; through which; extends a .pin 85. adjustably fixedin: a slot 81 in theweb 5.3L extending down from the bottom. of carrier this pin having an integral flange89and athreaded extremity equipped with nut 9| and lock washer: 93; to hold it in the desired: position. lengthwise ofslot 81.

The other portion 16 of: the actuator has an arm 95 which extends parallel to arm BI and is provided with an arcuate slot: 9.! in which is adjustably fixed a: pin. 99;.like pin. 85 .--held in, the desired position in such slot by flange and nut, and: as heretofore connected. through the customary" yielding. pull-spring, connection, with a pin:or arm on the usual gooseneck I90 which lifts thertransferrer dog intorange of the hunter on the lay. Parts 14 and '15 are in splined' engage,- ment; with; each other and held; together by a bolti'18' extending through. slot 30 in the part "it toprovide for. lengthening or shortening to match the-adjusted position. of the weft parter on the transferrer stud H, with respect to the gooseneck [Won the loom side.

In operation, as is obvious, when the. gooseneck moves rearwardly to lift the: transferrerdog in.

preparation for effecting the transfer of a. fresh bobbin; into the shuttle, actuator I is swung rearwardly through the stated yielding connection to pin. 99, sliding the carrier l rearwardly along. guides I and 9 until roll 59 is on. the elevated: flat portion of cam surface 63 on guide 9, which allows spring 4]" to open the cutting blades by depressing the rearward end of blade 3: The rearward travel of carrier l continues until the parts reach the position illustrated in Fig. l, and the blades are within. range of the lays forward swing, so that the blades enter the slots provided? therefor in the shuttle box front plate and in the shuttle, with one blade above and the other blade below the weft end in its extent from the shuttle eye to the selvage. screw 65 thereupon encounters the front plate and the carrier is driven forwardly on guides l, 9'; cam surface 63*depressing'roll 59 at the desired point in such forward travel to close movable jaw 3 and part the weft. Thereafter as the transfer is completed the return of the gooseneckto its inactive forward position holds actuator l5 and carrier l in the forward position to which they have been driven by the blow of the lay, with roll 59 forward of cam surface 63' and on the full-diameter portion oiguid'e 9 and thus with the cutting blades closed' and the parted weft end extending to the selvage held between moving blade 3 and the fiber holding blade 35, the-parts remaining thus in retracted positionout of range of the lay until again called into action.

As will. be seen in Fig. l, weft holding, blade 35. extends below and thus in advance of the cutting edge of fixed cutting blade 5, so that the weft entering between the cutting blades is brought first into contact with holding blade 35 by rising. cutting blade 3 and. seized between the surface of the latter adjacent this blades dull edge and the opposing surface of the holding blade before the continued movement of blade 3 brings it into contact with fixed blade 5 and effects the parting. The weft is thus first gripped and then cut, and hence cannot escape being held securely following the parting operation, instead of relying on its being simultaneously Hunter 6% gripped. and: out, or cutffirst and. gripped immediately afterward; as heretofore;

Since the main adjustments and relationships between the weft parter and its actuator have been: made beforehandand the device brought to the loom: and installed on the transferrcr. stud as a unit, instead of'beingassembled thereon as in the standard Stafford weft parter, only a relatively. few simple and: obvious final adjustments-are needed to put it in proper working relation with the other parts of the loom. Transverse adjustment. to'register with the shuttle slot iseffected by locating sleeve [3, properly lengthwise of the transferrer stud H, with appropriate extension:orcontraction; of the-length of actuator lfiyrotation of sleeve [3 about transferrer stud H; in; the-same.- operation gives the blades the proper; elevation toenter the shuttle slot. Timing ofthe moment of cutting is very simply effected by shifting guide 9. forward or backward in its hub l9, and the depth of. entry of the cutting blades into the shuttle slot is determined as usual by screwingbunter screw 65 in or out. The

extentv of opening of, the cutting blades is. governed by merely screwing regulating screw 55 up ordown. The opening of the jaws is governed automatically by spring 41- and, timed by the aforesaid axial adjustment of guide 9.. Proper adaptation of thelthrow of. actuator to fit the position and throw of the gooseneck is made by shifting either or both of pins and 99: in their slots. All moving parts areprovided with ample bearing surfaces adapted to receive and retain lubricant, thus minimizing wear and extending I the life of the device. Thereare no small loosely mounted partssuch as the cams of the Stafford weft parter which are subject to rapid wear through vibration and ill-adapted to retain lubricant, and which thus eventually lose-their critical adjustment and finally their capacity for proper setting and operation.

Additionally, the ease of travel of the parter in either direction coupled with the relatively lightmass of the moving parts makes for ease of retraction: in case the shuttlefeeler revokes the transfer. By contrast, in prior weft parters revocation ofthe transferfails nearly half the time to retract the-weft parter, and the latter functions inspite of the action of the revoker mechanism which prevents weft replenishment, so. that the-resulting mispick. stops the loom by the weft for-ls until the weaver goes through the routine necessary'to remedy the trouble and insert the missing pick. The reduction or elimination of this malfunctioning by the device of the invention thus effects asignificant saving.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which the invention may be embodied, I- am aware. that many modifications may be-made therein by any person skilled in. the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed, in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited, to the particular form shown, orto the details of construction thereof, but what I do claim is:

1'. In a weft-ereplenishing: loomhaving, means transferring a new bobbin to the shuttle of the loom, a weft parter comprising incombination weft cutting blades, :1. carrier therefor, a plurality of rods fixed in spaced and parallel relation on -which the carrier slides, and means actuating the carrier along the rods when the transfer means is called into action.

2. In a weft-replenishing loom having means transferring a new bobbin to the shuttle of the weft cutting blades, a carrier therefor, a plurality of rods of circular cross-section fixed in spaced and parallel relation on which the carrier slides, and means actuating the carrier along the rods when the transfer means is called into action, the carrier having passages of circular cross-section fitting the rods and serving as bearings.

3. A weft parter having in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades having a passage extending therethrough, a guide extending through such passage, and a cam in connection with the guide operating the cutting blades when the carrier is moved along the guide.

4. A weft parter having in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades having a passage extending therethrough, a guide extending through such passage, and a cam in connection with the guide and passing through the passage operating the cutting blades when the carrier is moved along the guide.

5. A weft parter having in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades having a passage extending therethrough, a guide extending through such passage, and a cam formed on the guide operating the cutting blades when the carrier is moved along the guide.

6. A weft parter having in combination weft cutting blades, 2. carrier therefor, and spaced and parallel guides extending through passages in the carrier, one of such guides having a cam surface formed thereon actuating the cutting blades when the carrier is moved along the guides.

7. A weft parter having in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades, a guide extending through a passage in the carrier having a cam surface formed thereon actuating the cutting blades when the carrier is moved along the guide, and supporting means holding the guide in operatively fixed position with capacity for adjustment axially of the guide.

8. A weft parter having in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier on which one blade is fixed and the other blade is pivotally mounted, a guide extending through a passage in the carrier having a cam surface formed thereon, a cam follower on the pivotally mounted blade, a spring on the carrier urging the cam follower against the cam, and means moving the carrier along the guide.

9. A weft parter for looms having a transferrer, and a stud supporting the latter, comprising in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades, a guide for the carrier, a bracket mounting the guide in fixed relation on the transferrer stud, and means pivotally mounted on the bracket eccentrically of the stud moving the carrier along the guide.

10. A weft parter for looms having a gooseneck, transferrer, and a stud supporting the latter, comprising in combination Weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades, a guide for the carrier, a bracket mounting the guide in fixed relation on the transferrer stud, and an actuator swinging on a fixed axis apart from that of the transferrer stud moving the carrier along the guide.

11. A weft parter for looms having a gooseneck, a transferrer, and a stud supporting the latter,

comprising in combination weft cutting blades, a carrier for the blades, a guide for the carrier, an actuator transmitting an impulse from the gooseneck to the carrier to move the carrier along the guide, and a bracket fixed on the stud and supporting both the guide and the actuator.

12. A weft parter having in combination a guide, a carrier moving thereon, a weft cutting blade fixed on the carrier, a movable weft cutting blade pivoted on the carrier, cam means in connection with the guide, and a roll pivotally mounted on the movable blade engaging with the cam means and transmitting actuation from the latter to the movable blade.

13. A weft parter having in combination a lay, a stationary guide, a carrier guided thereby toward and from the lay, and relatively movable weft-cutting blades on the carrier, the guide having a fixed cam surface thereon operating the cutting blades.

14. A weft parter having in combination a lay, a stationary guide, a carrier guided thereby toward and from the lay, a weft-cutting blade fixed on the carrier, and a weft-cutting blade movably mounted on the carrier, the guide having an integral cam surface formed thereon engaging with a surface on the movable blade moving the latter relative to the fixed blade.

15. A weft parter having in combination a lay, a stationary guide, a carrier guided thereby toward and from the lay, weft-cutting blades on the carrier relatively movable to receive and cut the weft, blade actuating means on the guide, and means variably fixing the scope of relative movement of the blades.

16. A weft parter having in combination a lay, a stationary guide, a carrier guided thereby toward and from the lay, weft-cutting blades on the carrier relatively movable to receive and cut the weft, blade actuating means on the guide, and adjustable stop means variably determining the extent of opening movement of the blades.

17. A weft parter having in combination a guide, a carrier moving thereon, a weft cutting blade fixed on the carrier, a weft cutting blade movably mounted on the carrier, a weft holder on the carrier against which the weft is gripped by the movably mounted blade before the weft is parted by the latter, a weft guide pressing against the cutting portion of the fixed blade at the cutting point, and spring means pressing against the weft holder opposite the cutting point and at the weft holders forward end only, whereby the two blades and the weft holder are pressed together chiefly by the rearward extremities of the weft guide and spring means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,367,070 Marshall Feb. 1, 1921 1,761,625 Harris June 3, 1930 2,093,696 Lundgren Sept. 21, 1937 2,200,182 Lanier May 7, 1940 2,223,896 Nichols Dec. 3, 1940 2,389,471 Turner Nov. 20, 1945 2,471,809 Beatrice May 31, 1949 2,515,045 Keilczewski et al. July 11, 1950 2,654,400 Donoghue et al Oct. 6, 1953 

